These are a few of the potential causes of topping the golf ball:
- Your arc is too high at the bottom of the swing. When this happens you usually have two options. You either completely whiff the ball. Embarrassing, but it happens. ...
- You reach the bottom of the arc before hitting the ball and are on an upswing when the club connects. ...
- You’re reaching the bottom of your arc after you’ve hit the ball. ...
Full Answer
How do you stop topping the ball in golf?
Aug 06, 2018 · Chris Ryan shows you 3 of the most common causes of the dreaded top shot with your irons clubs.If you struggle with thin or topped shots then there is a very...
Why do you hit the ground before the golf ball?
Lifting your head right before impact is likely the leading cause of topping golf shots. You can do everything right throughout the entire swing, but if you lift your head early, the shot can go all wrong. The real problem here is the chain reaction that occurs when you do lift your head up out of …
How to stop topping the golf ball?
Jun 16, 2012 · 1. Maintain your spine angle. The most common reason for topping the golf ball is when golfers come out of their posture or lose their spine angle during the golf swing. What I mean is at set up you should have a nice posture with your back bent at the waist and arms hanging comfortably over the shoulders.
How to 'top' a golf ball?
Dec 15, 2020 · A Quick Tip to Stop Topping the Golf Ball. One of the most common misses in golf happens when the lead arm breaks down at impact and you top the golf ball. Of course, when this happens we've all ...
What is it called when a ball is bouncing?
But many players make contact above the ball's equator, resulting in a low-flying or bouncing ball. This is called "topping" -- also "skulling" or "thinning" -- the ball, and there are several common reasons that it happens.
What happens if you swing too far forward?
If the ball is too far forward in your stance, it's easy to hit it fat. The clubhead reaches the bottom of its swing arc before it gets to the ball. If you adjust your swing so you don't hit the ground, the clubhead will be swinging upward by the time it reaches the ball. When that happens, you have no chance of hitting the bottom half of the ball.
How to get more clubhead speed?
Throwing the Clubhead. Sometimes you try to gain extra clubhead speed by flipping your wrists at impact, but all you do is straighten your wrists before the clubhead reaches the ball. That makes the club reach the bottom of its arc farther back in your stance, instead of in front of the ball. The clubhead then swings upward sooner ...
What happens when you lean toward the target?
If you lean toward the target at the top of your backswing, you'll tend to lean away from the target during your downswing. This changes the bottom of the swing arc. If you manage to avoid hitting the ground before you hit the ball (a fat shot), the clubhead will be swinging upward when it reaches the ball – and that's the recipe for a topped shot. ...
Is standing up bad for the ball?
The ball might be in a bad lie, lower than your feet. In any case, standing up increases the distance from you to the ball; if you hit the ball at all, you probably are going to hit the top half.
Can you swing up on a golf ball?
Unless the ball is sitting up on thick grass, which would give you a chance to get under it, you'll either swing up on the ball ( as with poor ball position) or stand up during your downswing. But most of the time, you'll still top the ball.
How to throw a golf club toward the ground?
It can be helpful to practice this by placing a ball in your right hand, from your golf posture. Allow the elbow to fold as it would in your backswing and then throw the ball so that it hits the ground.
When your ball is at a neutral position on the ground, your club needs to dig into the ground?
When your ball is at a neutral position on the ground, your club needs to dig into the ground in order to achieve contact at the true loft of your club. This is one of the many counter-intuitive motions in golf, many of which take time to learn.
What ruins a golf swing?
Nothing ruins a great golf swing like a loss of balance. Assuming you’re in a good set up to start, it only takes a small loss of balance to cause you to top the ball. A good check of balance is holding your finish until your golf ball lands.
How to get the ball down to the ground?
1. Bad Posture. Good posture is the basis for solid contact. Bowing forward from your hips so that your hands can hang below your shoulders can put you in balance and also get the club down to the ground. Too much knee flex or squatting can often make it extremely difficult to get the club down into the turf, and therefore get the ball into the air.
Why is my ball not rolling across the ground?
In simplest terms, in order to get the ball up into the air — and not rolling across the ground — is to hit down into the dirt. (GETTY) If that’s not happening, there may be a few reasons why. Here are some of the most common I see: 1. Bad Posture. Good posture is the basis for solid contact.
How to brush grass without a club?
Keeping your hands away from your sternum can help to maintain the width of your backswing, making it easier to brush the grass. One of my favorite drills for feeling this is to hold your lead wrist with your trail hand. From here, make your backswing without a club and feel your trail arm pull your lead arm wide.
Why is it so hard to keep your head down?
The problem with keeping your head down is that it limits your body’s ability to move athletically. If you attempt to keep your head down, it’s very difficult to allow your body to rotate properly on your downswing to get the club down to the ground and the ball into the air. 7. Tension in hands and arms.
How does a golf swing stay level?
Good golf swings remain level throughout the backswing and downswing, so the body remains as stable as possible and the job of delivering the club head to the back of the ball gets that much easier. To better understand this concept, think about other areas of life outside of the golf course that require precision.
What happens if you hit the ball too far left?
If you’ve got the ball too far left (closer to your lead foot) at address, your swing will find its bottom point before it reaches the ball. By impact, the clubhead is traveling up and over the ball, usually clipping it above the equator. If you’ve been topping the ball often, check your ball position first.
What is it like to watch your golf ball fly?
One of the great pleasures in the game of golf is looking up after your swing and watching your ball soar through the air in the direction of the target. Even if you don’t hit a great shot every time, there is something satisfying about watching the ball fly that gives the golfers a great feeling of accomplishment.
How does rotation work in golf?
Rotation works in both directions, as well – you have to rotate away from the target if you are going to be able to rotate towards it with any kind of power and aggression.
What happens if you don't clear your swing?
If you aren’t clear on what is going on in your swing that is leading to the topping of the ball, you don’t stand much of a chance at all to fix it. The good news is that unlike some other parts of the golf swing, the issue that you are likely dealing with to create this problem is relatively easy to understand.
Is the topped shot embarrassing?
Ah, the topped shot. It’s embarrassing, all right. Even worse, the ego damage is compounded by a lousy result, which moves you only a little closer to the intended target.
Can you play golf with your toes up?
It is actually possible to play good golf this way, and you might see better players who get up on their toes from time to time – especially when swinging hard. However, for a golfer who wants to figure out how to stop topping the golf ball, getting rid of this move should be a top priority.
How do golfers top the golf ball?
Another common way golfers top the golf ball is they perform an over the top golf swing and come in too steep at the golf ball. A steep downswing leads to more of an outside to inside swing path which makes it difficult to strike the golf ball solid.
Why do golfers struggle to stop topping the ball?
Having great balance is vital to a good golf swing and poor balance is another reason golfers struggle to stop topping the golf ball. Here's a great drill you can practice at home that ties in with the 1st method talked about above.
What side of the golf swing do you hit the full shots on?
Work your way up to hitting full shots and feel like you're balanced and finishing with your weight on your left side (lead side) after the follow-through. If you can do the chair drill successfully you'll continue to strike the ball solid time after time eliminating any topped golf shots from your game.
Who said golfers should keep their eye on the ball?
Schippel says golfers should instead "keep their eye on the ball.". He breaks it down in the video below & provides an easy drill that you can try to generate power from the ground up and finish your golf swing with ease.
What is the most common miss in golf?
Published on Tuesday, December 15, 2020. One of the most common misses in golf happens when the lead arm breaks down at impact and you top the golf ball. Of course, when this happens we've all heard the peanut gallery on the golf course say "keep your head down.".
Why does my golf club hit the ground before the ball?
As your hips move too much side to side , this can often cause the club to hit the ground before the ball if you do not recenter yourself exactly the same amount. Also, when you stance is too wide, the potential locations the club has to hit the ground increases, which results in more inconsistent strikes.
How to know if your golf club hits the ground?
You can easily check this by taking a practice swing and seeing where, relative to your feet, your club hits the ground. If your club hits the ground centered in your stance, it would be greatly to your advantage to place your golf ball there. 3. Flat footed forward swing.
Why does my golf club get stuck in the ground?
If you crowd your club and stand so close that your arms do not have enough room to hang and swing can often result in your golf club getting stuck into the ground. Being too crowded, effectively makes the club too long relative to your body, so it has nowhere to go but into the ground.
What is the aiming line on a golf club?
The aiming line on a golf club is the leading edge and the more lofted the club the more crooked the top line may look. Often golfers will not set the club properly on the ground as a compensation — they hit slices, for instance, so they set the club closed at setup.
How to make good contact in golf?
1. Crowded posture. Proper posture is one of the most important fundamentals to good contact. Giving yourself enough room to bow from your hips so that your hands can hang below your shoulders puts you into a balanced position that allows you to be athletic throughout your swing.
What does it mean when you get stuck in your backswing?
If your backswing is a straight line back that tends to go toward the sky and is just a lifted motion, all you will have is straight down, which tends to get stuck. It reminds me of the letter V. Straight back and up equals straight down and dig.
What is the most important fundamental in golf?
Ball position is one of the most important fundamentals. All it takes is playing your golf ball a fraction of an inch too far forward for you to chunk the ball. I often say to my students: “you hit the ground where the golf ball should have been.”
